Making something out of nothing is what I do best! Don’t let those onion tops, celery leaves and cauliflower steams end up in the trash! In only a few weeks you can have enough kitchen scraps to make a delicious and nutrient rich veggie broth.
Storing Scraps
I use all sorts of scraps as you can see in the picture of my stock pot. Some items were part of my scraps bag, which I keep in my freezer, and others were simply items that were going to go bad if we didn’t use them soon. I keep all my scraps in a ziplock bag and shove it in the freezer. As I cut onions or peel carrots for meals I just grab my bag and add to it and place it back in the freezer. Once I see it’s getting full I know I am close to having enough for a batch of broth. Now this is totally modifiable. If you have some chicken bones or beef bones you can also add those in and make it into a bone broth. Bone broth is perfect for the winter months when lots of sickness is circulating. I always make sure to have both chicken and beef stacked high in preparation for winter.
Cooking
I use a very large stockpot and cook this over the corse of a minimum of 12 hours but I’ve gone as long as 24 hours depending on my schedule. If you don’t have a canner you can also make this and let it cool. Then store it in a double ziplock bag and place it in the freezer. It will last 3-6 months this way. Did you know if you have a Freeze Dryer you can also freeze dry it? I’ve done a batch of chicken bone broth and it made a perfect long term bone broth powder. Today, I chose to process this in my newish Carey electric pressure canner. I got my electric canner for Christmas and I’ve only used it about 3 times. I’m still a bit shaky with it as it’s so different from traditional canning. It almost feels TOO easy. lol If you’re looking to save yourself hours of standing over a traditional canner, an electric one is an awesome investment!
Canning
To can my veggie broth, I pushed a few buttons, and walked away. “mind blown” I was amazed I was able to process 8 quarts without breaking a sweat and while playing with my kiddos outside. Yup, I didn’t even have to watch it. Craziness for sure.
Final Product!
Take a look at these beauties! I can’t wait to add them to the shelves once they’re all cooled down. Canning doesn’t have to be hard, or expensive, or even take all day. A little bit of pre planning, and using what you already have on hand is a perfect way to save money. We are on fixed income and are working on our 1 year food storage. We don’t have extra money to just go out and buy a ton of extra food, and nor would I want to. With the amount of recalls and food shortages recently, finding ways to save what you’ve already bought for later use is the key! We hope you found this article helpful and watched the video of the process. Working on your food storage on a tight budget can be done. You can also check out our post on How To Grow Mushrooms In A Tiny Space.
In Conclusion
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